Mornings

Ugh, I hate mornings - always have. Getting out of bed has always been one of the hardest things for me to do. In a perfect world, I'd wake up and have about 30 minutes to clear the fog before having to set a foot on the floor. In my real world, the kids are pulling me out of bed and the fog often lasts until lunch time.

But.

One of my favorite parts of my day is taking Grant to school - in the morning. I can't even write that without smiling because it was just a few short years ago that it was my hardest part of the day. Those first 3 years of school mornings, were... well, that's another post entirely. The next 2 were much better, but still difficult because I had Owen with me while getting Grant to his class. This year, however, it's just me and Grant. This is a good thing.

Grant is able to sit in the front seat of the car now, so as we drive I talk about the things we see and about how school will go today. Most days, he will name his favorite things that he sees along the way - corn, barn, cows. I believe he comprehends 90% of what I'm saying, but I have absolutely no idea how he processes that information. If he is processing it in a similar way to you and I, how utterly frustrating that must be to not reciprocate his thoughts and feelings. I have no idea if he likes or doesn't like any or all of the kids in his class (or does he care?). But, before we know it, we're at school trying to scrounge up a parking space so we can walk to his class. This year, we've been on time each and every day - incredible! Even the morning that my battery was dead, we still got the car jumped and got to class before the bell rang.

The class schedule is a good mix between highly scheduled activities and opportunities to break up the schedule. The morning is one of the highly scheduled times - come in, grab a book, and read until it's time to start class. This is my time. I exchange greetings with his teacher and the paras who are in the room, and also with the parents as they drop off their children. My favorite part, though, is getting to know the kids themselves. Because Grant is doing so well in the morning and since I don't have Owen with me, I'm able to spend a little more time in the class and talk to the kids. We have a new kid in the class this year, J., who talks quite well and can easily converse and share his ideas and thoughts. I love to hear his stories and his opinion of various topics - toys, his sister, his dad's job, etc. While I'm talking to J., I kneel next to Grant's desk and read along with him. I try to get him to label things, or I try to get him interested in the story being told.

At the same time, I say 'hi' to each of the other kids. One boy who has been with Grant since the beginning, always says 'hi Grant's Dad'. Lately, he's been addressing me before I say 'hi' to him - great stuff. He is definitely farther along on the language train than Grant. The other kids give me all sorts of different reactions, as you would expect. R. speaks very quietly and has almost no eye contact. G. almost always gives me a smile when I talk to him; I can see a glimmer in his eye and I think he's going to be a real character when he grows up. D. has just recently starting copying R. and now says 'hi Grant's Dad' too. There are a few others that generally show up a little later and I don't get to talk to them much.

Before I know it, the bell has rung and Mrs. J. is heading towards the front of the classroom to start group time. I say 'bye Grant' and he says 'bye, Daddy' - this always puts a smile on my face as I say bye to everybody and head out the door for a day at the office. The joy I experience in the morning these days wouldn't be the same without the struggles and discouragement I had with Grant in earlier years. Now, if I could just learn how to get out of bed...